Mystery of the Ages (a critical review)

By Kelly Marshall

There are probably few people in the world that haven't contemplated
life's deepest questions. Herbert Armstrong claimed his book Mystery
of the Ages answered those questions and that these mysteries were divinely
revealed to him by God.

Can you know for sure these things are true? Does this book stand
up to the truth of Scripture? Or is it merely black and white answers
to life that come with a high price?

This review is based on the 1985 hardback version (363 pages) and will go
through each chapter and confront these "mysteries." Its purpose will
be to: 1. Help those who come into contact with this book to understand
the true agenda behind it; 2. Show how Herbert W. Armstrong substituted the true gospel
of Jesus Christ with a false gospel; 3. Help those who have exited from
these groups to understand how they were snared and help them untangle
themselves from the falsehoods, and 4. Prove that HWA was a false prophet and deceiver, who copied and plagiarized from other groups.

[Update: Gerald Flurry of Philadelphia
Church of God (PCG) deleted and changed portions of this book. Read:
April
13, 2004 letter to ESN.]

Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity,
lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily
decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make
it appear to the inexperienced (ridiculous as the expression may seem)
more true than the truth itself. (Irenaeus Against Heresies, Book I)

Preface

It doesn't take one long to see how Herbert Armstrong carefully lays
a foundation for this entire book to be built upon. He begins by asking
questions that have plagued man since the beginning of time. "Who am
I? What? Why? Where did it all come from? Is there a purpose? etc."
He continues by contrasting the world's amazing progress along with
its most horrible problems.

He also activates the word "mystery" and firmly plants it into our
minds, repeating it seven times in the first page alone! And 31 times
in just the first six pages. Constant repetition is the key to advertising
success, and HWA skillfully utilizes this technique. The word "mystery"
was cleverly chosen. It implies "a puzzle to be solved," and HWA will
later set himself up to be the man with all the answers to the puzzle
that he is constructing.

Successful salesmen know that they must discredit their competitors
in order for consumers to shed their loyalty. Once consumers begin to
doubt their favorite brands, they become more willing to try another
brand. Salesmen are keenly aware that they must be 100% convinced that
their product is superior to all others. As the saying goes, "If
you're not convinced,
they won't be convinced." One must speak
with complete authority and never waiver. Now let's see if these methods
are used in MOA.

MOA begins by asking age-old questions about life, but as the book
continues, it begins to shift focus. As early as page 2, HWA begins
to discredit mainstream church authority. At first it is very subtle,
and one may not understand that HWA was a master at progression. His
experience as a salesman has taught him how to break down the doubts
in the consumer's mind, and then introduce a "better product." Once
the person becomes disarmed, HWA will become more flagrant in his pronunciations.
Let's see this in action.

By insinuating that man's misguided thinking was foisted upon him
by the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant churches, HWA continues
discrediting these authorities by berating their picture of Jesus ("long-haired,
semi-effeminate"). He begins to plant doubt in institutionalized religion.
("Why, if religious experts can't get the picture of Jesus right, what
else are they teaching that is wrong?") But he doesn't stop there. He
continues to discredit the scientific community ("these mysteries can't
be explained by science"), and higher education ("ignorant minds filled
with intellectual vanity"), and finally, government ("ruled by principalities
of evil spirits"). Now the reader is set up to mistrust all these "authorities."
Before the person has time to digest this, HWA unleashes a barrage a
questions that lead up to his conclusion: There are "Seven Great Mysteries"
that none of the churches or theologians have comprehended. (p. 5)

As if all this wasn't bad enough, we now learn that nobody can understand
the Bible by reading it—"or certainly almost nobody." (p. 5) With all
experts and authorities cut down, HWA cunningly introduces himself as
"The One" who understands. Now our "new authority expert" takes the
reins and presents a new product—a whole new religious belief system.

Let's review the Seven Mysteries:

God

Angels and evil spirits

Man

Civilization

Israel

The Church

The Kingdom of God

I quote Herbert Armstrong's own words:

The Bible is the basic mystery of all. (p. 5)

God deliberately coded his book so that it would not be understood
until our modern time. Why was this purposely done? Even that is
a mystery. (p. 6)

Above, HWA says there are two more mysteries. So in actuality, there
are nine mysteries, and not seven! But
HWA taught that seven is God's number1,
considered to be holy and signifying "completion": 7 holy days, Sabbath
is the 7th day, creation finished the 7th day, etc. So here we see that
he couldn't leave out the Bible, or the reason why it is coded because
these are two major topics that cannot be ignored. But he wanted it
to appear that God personally revealed these things to him, so he uses
the number seven (God's number) to boost his claims, and appends the
other two mysteries.

Now all good salesmen know that they must "target" their market.
Who do they want to reach with their product? HWA targeted "Bible illiterates"—those
who needed to "blow the dust off your Bible and read it." On page x
of the Author's Statement, we see this astute observation:

Most people, I realized, accept or reject a belief on careless assumption
due to whatever they have heard, been taught, or assumed without
proof.

Armed with that understanding, he states,

If one begins reading the Bible continuously from beginning to end,
one becomes bewildered. (p. 5)

This statement is partially true. Yes, one can become bewildered
because of the pronunciation of unfamiliar names and locations, customs
and rituals—not because it is coded, or a jigsaw puzzle
that only fits one particular way. HWA knows his market will be those
who realize that they assumed what they believed without proof, and
now desire a deeper understanding, but who are completely untrained
to discern his heretical teachings. He knows they have no solid foundation,
so he easily knocks down what shaky little bit they had.

Salesmen are adept at making their customers feel that they have
some kind of "inside knowledge" or "expertise" about their products,
and they know how to get their customers to desire them (much like the
serpent making Eve desire something she didn't have). So the another
nail is hammered into the coffin of outside authority:

The clergy and theologians of organized "Christianity" therefore,
cannot and do not understand the Holy Bible. (p. 6)

He chisels away at religious authorities more than the others. Why?
Because the product he is selling is religion, and he wants the bonds
completely severed. Once that has been achieved, he reverts our attention
to the unanswered mysteries.

How then, can we, in this book, understand and reveal to the reader
these boggling mysteries? That question will be answered in the
Introduction to follow. (p. 6)

He ends this chapter by fanning the flames of desire, the quest for
answers to these mysteries, not by giving us the answers all at once.
Think how many salesmen that have entered your home left in five minutes?
They know this will happen if they give you all the information at once.
No, an expert salesmen will continue to titillate his customers with
desire for their product. The longer he spends with them, the more influence
he will have over their decision. With their defenses down, HWA will
continue to build on the foundation that he has laid. He promises to
answer these mysteries in the Introduction, but what the unsuspecting
reader doesn't see is that the next 23 pages of the Introduction are
about himself! Notice that the building
being erected on the foundation isn't Jesus Christ, or God for that
matter. It is about him, Herbert W. Armstrong, and
how God has commissioned him to reveal these mysteries
to us. Now let's get to the Introduction and review the methods used
there.

1 Page 24, Introduction to Mystery
of the Ages shows this principle of "sevens" in action: "In the first
dummy copy of The Plain Truth that I put
together in 1927 – seven years before the magazine was actually published..."

*All footnotes throughout have
been added by Kelly Marshall and D. M. Williams of Exit & Support Network™.